SERAP Sues Akpabio, Abbas Over Unaccounted ₦18.6 Billion National Assembly Funds

• SERAP has filed a lawsuit against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas demanding accountability for ₦18.6 billion allocated for the National Assembly Service Commission office complex.
• The lawsuit follows the 2022 Auditor-General’s Report, which flagged the entire amount as unaccounted for and raised fears it may have been “diverted or stolen.”
• SERAP is seeking a court order to compel the National Assembly leadership to disclose the location of the funds, the identity of the “fictitious construction company” paid, and all related project documents.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a major lawsuit against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, and the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), demanding full accountability for ₦18.6 billion allocated for the NASC office complex in Abuja.

The lawsuit (FHC/ABJ/CS/2457/2025) follows damning revelations in the 2022 Auditor-General’s Annual Report, published in September 2025, which flagged the entire sum as “unjustified, unsupported, and unaccounted for.”

Alleged Corruption and Missing Documents

SERAP is seeking a court order to compel the National Assembly leadership to explain the whereabouts of the funds, disclose the identity of the alleged “fictitious construction company” that received the payments, and release all project-related documents.

The Auditor-General’s report highlighted severe financial irregularities, stating:

Over ₦11.6 billion was paid to an “unknown construction company” in 2020.

The contract was allegedly inflated by an additional ₦6.9 billion paid in 2023.

The report further noted that both contracts were awarded “without a Bill of Quantity (BOQ), without needs assessment, without newspaper advertisements, without bidding, without quotations, and without FEC approval.”

The Auditor-General concluded with a serious concern:

“The Auditor-General fears the entire ₦18.6bn may have been diverted or stolen and wants a full account of the money.”

SERAP argues that the alleged diversion is a grave breach of public trust and constitutional duties, stressing that Nigerians have a right to know how the funds were used.